In MLA style, referring to outside resources within your writing is generally done in parenthetical style.
Using parenthesis, the writer provides necessary information about the source within parenthesis at the end of a quotation, summary, or paraphrased information.
The tabs below provide more information regarding specific types of sources.
Source information originating from a book or other print medium with page numbers will contain the last name of the author and the page number the information is found on:
Writing well includes learning to "trust your own mind and body" (Goldberg 12).
However, it is also possible to incorporate the author's name into your writing. In this case, the in-text citation would include the page number only.
According to writing expert Natalie Goldberg, "One of the main aims in writing practice is to learn to trust your own mind and body" (12).
It is important to remember that you are citing ideas, not just words, so even if you rephrase the information and remove the quote, it still requires a citation.
Trusting yourself is a crucial factor of writing well (Goldberg 12).
Most modern online sources (with the exception of peer-reviewed journals available online) do not include page or line numbers, so this information is not included in the citation.
Writing in the margins of a book creates a "collaboration between author and subject, text and reader" (Rubsam).
When citing a work by two authors, place an "and" between the author's last names.
(Elbow and Belanoff 133)
When citing a work by three or more authors, write the first author's last name followed by an "et al."
(Booth et al. 147)